Eddie Howe celebrated a “massive” win as Newcastle put their transfer window woes behind them to condemn Tottenham to a first Premier League defeat of the season at St James’ Park.
Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was among the crowd as the Magpies scrapped their way to a 2-1 victory with a squad hit by injuries and arguably weakened by departures sanctioned in order to comply with spending restrictions.
Asked how important the win was against that backdrop, head coach Howe said: “It’s massive, isn’t it?
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— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) September 1, 2024
“You need to win at any stage but I think when there’s difficult moments – and this transfer window has been tough for us – then it’s even more important because it just enables you to see things clearly and to move forward with positive momentum.
“Hopefully we can do that. Today was a tough game, but as I said we found a way to grind out a win and hopefully those are good signs for the rest of the season.”
Newcastle led at the end of an even first half, but endured almost incessant pressure after the break before somehow finding a way to win.
Harvey Barnes’ smart finish gave the Magpies a 38th-minute advantage somewhat against the run of play, and Tottenham finally got their reward 11 minutes after the restart when Dan Burn turned substitute Brennan Johnson’s cross-shot into his own net.
From that point on, there looked likely to be only one winner as Nick Pope’s goal came under repeated fire, but the visitors were hit with a 77th-minute sucker punch when substitute Jacob Murphy raced on to Joelinton’s through-ball and timed his pass to perfection to set Alexander Isak up for the winner.
Asked if his team was playing how he wanted it to, Howe said: “No, I don’t think we’re playing as we would like, I think that’s obvious.
“I don’t think we’re playing with enough control, I don’t think we’re playing with enough composure. But what we are showing is the defensive and aggressive qualities that you need.
“I have to say we’re defending very well but on the ball, I think we’ve got a lot of work to do. Our attacking play has not kicked into rhythm yet.”
Opposite number Ange Postecoglou admitted Spurs had been made to pay for not killing the game off.
He said: “We controlled it for the most part, nullified most of the threats that Newcastle have.
“It’s obviously a difficult opponent here at home, the crowd creates a pretty strong atmosphere for the home side and little things go their way.
“But I thought for the most part, we handled that really well and then gained the ascendancy in the game. We just needed to kill it off and it was a disappointing second half, where we switched off a little bit.
“But the game should have been all over by then so it’s another sore one, unfortunately, where we haven’t got the rewards for our play.”
Meanwhile, Howe insisted he wants Kieran Trippier to stay amid reports a deal had been agreed with Turkish club Eyupspor, something of which he insisted he was unaware.
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